THE Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) yesterday began an indefinite strike action over the non-implementation of the Memorandum of Action (MOA) signed with the Federal Government.
The strike action which began with immediate effect, the National President of ASUU, Prof Biodun Ogunyemi said would cover both the Federal and State owned universities. Prof Ogunyemi who briefed the media after the National Executive Council (NEC) of the ASUU last night in Akure, the Ondo state capital said all entreaties made to the Federal Government to honour the agreement with the union fell of deaf ears and they have no other option than to begin an indefinite strike action. He said “having waited patiently for action and meaningful negotiation with reasonable men using the principle of collective bargaining that ASUU at its NEC meeting of 3rd and 4th November 2018 at the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) resolved to resume the nationwide strike action it suspended in September 2017 with immediate effect.
“This strike will be total comprehensive and indefinite. Our members shall withdraw their services until government fully implement all outstanding issues as contained in the MOA of 2017, and concludes the renegotiation of the 2009 agreements. “We have today been subjected to 20 years of continued re-colonization under alleged democracy in which all that the ruling circle have been regrouping among themselves in their various faction they called political parties.” According to him the release of paltry N20 billion revitalization fund was despite the fact that the same government released N1.3 trillion to a distressed bank. Ogunyemi said the government was not interested in public universities as the children of the top politicians and rich men in the society patronize private universities at the detriment of public institutions.
